Life Comes At You Fast

Hi. I haven't blogged for a few months. Life really does fly by. I'm amazed that we're halfway finished with the semester, and I'm a junior! It's pretty scary thinking about graduating in a little over a year and a half. Life keeps going even when you want to hit pause. And, it continues to surprise me. Or I should say that God continues to surprise me, in good ways and bad. I have to keep reminding myself that everything that comes my way contributes to God's plan for my life, whether it's positive or negative.
 Recently, I've had a few issues with technology. This is one example of the negative. I've had two phones break in the past month, a laptop crash, and my new laptop give me problems twice already. Also, someone purchased things with my debit card, so the bank had to close out my card. Lovely, I know. Those are just random things I don't mind mentioning in a blog. Of course, other things have happened too. God definitely likes to test my faith and put a few challenges in my life here and there. It's easy to focus on those and get frustrated, depressed, disheartened, discouraged, upset, etc., but that's a personal choice. I'm not saying that I'm perfect and never have those feelings, because I'm human and I definitely do.
However, we have the choice to be that way all the time or to choose to be positive and seek God. When we seek God, we realize that those things that might discourage or frustrate us every now and then actually can help us grow, and that there are so many reasons to focus on our blessings instead of our occasional curses. I shared part of my testimony with some people on Sunday, and before and after, I was thinking about how life changes so quickly, and it can be for better or for worse. For me, it changed for better when I became a Christian, and God continues to shape me into who I am becoming. He has given me a joy and a love for life that I didn't have a few years ago, and it's amazing to look at each day of my life and to find God working. It's easy to go through life and never see the need for God, but if you do that, you are missing out on a completely different life, and an amazing one for sure. No, it won't be easy, because living a life for Christ is nowhere near that. We are inherently evil, sinners from the beginning, so becoming like Christ in our lives is seemingly impossible.
 But, we can definitely strive toward that, and reading and studying the Word and living it out leads to becoming more like Christ. If we take each day of our lives and use it for the best, then when life "comes at you fast," you will be able to say you lived it for Christ and not for yourself, and that you took advantage of every opportunity to share your faith, etc. This is something that is so hard for me to do. It's easy to let the days go by and not share your faith because we focus on our own lives and our own agendas. I encourage you to focus on God's agenda and to live your life for Christ, seeing the blessings of each day and staying positive even when the hardships come along.